Diwali

Celebrated over five days between mid-October and mid-November according to the Hindu lunisolar calendar, Diwali stands as one of India's most widely celebrated festivals, marking the victory of light over darkness and, in the story most commonly associated with the celebration, Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravana. His homecoming was marked with grand feasts and sweets, a tradition of cooking and sharing festive food that continues in households across the country to this day.

Every region of India brings its own distinct culinary character to the celebration: Maharashtra and Gujarat lean on faral and farsan, trays of mixed savoury snacks like shankarpali and chakli alongside sweets such as karanji; North India favours rich, milk-based sweets like barfi, kaju katli and gulab jamun; South India, where the festival is often called Deepavali, centres around murukku and the deep-fried jaggery sweet adhirasam; and Bengal draws on its own confectionery tradition built from chhena, or fresh cheese, producing sandesh and rasgulla, particularly around Kali Puja, which falls on the same night. On Govardhan Puja, the day after Lakshmi Puja, this culinary abundance reaches its peak with Annakut, literally 'mountain of food' — an enormous vegetarian spread arranged before Krishna and shared among everyone present.

Boxes of mithai exchanged between relatives, colleagues and neighbours run throughout the festival's five days, a quiet, genuinely widespread way the celebration keeps communities connected — proof that Diwali's reputation as the Festival of Lights tells only half the story, with food playing an equally central role in how the celebration actually unfolds.